Life Goes On
by Coy Fish
Summary: A series of one shots featuring Murdoc and his family. Takes place after Into the Underground.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I know I have many other things to finish, but I felt like doing this at the moment. It will be a series of one shots, so there really is no clear ending. If you haven't read Into the Underground, I suggest you do so or else it might be a little hard to understand. You don't have to, but it would be easier to get where I'm going.

Rated M to be on the safe side.

Warning: Mentions of drug use

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><p><strong>Drugs or Me<strong>

His veins were on fire, but there was a time where the fire made him want to claw his skin off. Now the fire was a precursor to supreme happiness. Nothing could be wrong when the fire kicked in. The needle was still sticking out of his skin as he laid back and shut his eyes. Strange and familiar images flittered around behind his eyelids as he relaxed and prepared for the long night ahead of him. If he was happy then nothing could bring him down, and if nothing could bring him down, he would keep playing until his fingers would bleed. The gritty club scene they played could be kind one day and cruel the next, but with a little help from a syringe and the self made concoction he injected, he felt he could be anything. He felt that he could even be as successful as his own father. A prod at his shoulder brought him out of his drug induced stupor.

"It's time Eli." Grunting, he sat himself up and opened his case. Pulling out the time worn bass and doing a quick tune he stood up and pushed by his band mate. It was time to prove that he was worth something for the fans to scream over, even if they were a seedy bunch of bastards.

There was a little girl in the crowd, watching her brother play his heart out. He looked exhausted and sickly. It was like she was looking at pictures of their father when he had first started playing in one of his many start up bands. The ten year old didn't belong there, but she had begged Catrice to take her since she was going to see her own brother play. The fifteen year old didn't want to bring her, but babysitting her in the future would probably be hell if she didn't take her along. Catrice's brother, Desmond was her twin, and he played piano like their father. It was like genetics wanted to play a joke and make future progeny have some sort of musical talent, even if it did lead to eventual self destruction. Olivia's brother, Eli had started doing drugs when they started playing in the clubs. Someone had offered him a little stab of a needle and from then on he had been hooked. Catrice didn't want her brother to wind up like Eli and she constantly worried about him.

Desmond once told her that he felt if he could watch over Eli when he was shooting up, he could make sure nothing happened to him. The young boy had looked up to him for as long as he could remember; they were practically family.

In the audience Olivia and Catrice watched and waited, enjoying the music and bumping into sweaty bodies as the night went on. The little girl had seen the sweat dripping off her brother's gaunt face as he crooned out with his gravelly voice. She loved her brother with all her heart and she wanted him to get better. She wanted him to come back home and play with her. Without him she was lonely and felt like an only child. Having a conversation with her father about it was pointless because he always said that Eli was just like him. Sometimes she heard her parents talk about it; her mom would cry late at night and their father would tell her that he would come to his senses eventually.

At the end of the night and people had started to spill out of the building, both girls went to the back, but Catrice helped her brother break down the set and carry everything out to Eli's car. They never came back in. Standing by the bathroom that her brother had disappeared into, she hoped he wouldn't be mad that she was there. He was throwing up, the remnants of food that were in his stomach had come up with alarming frequency. Eli felt the air pressure change as the door to the bathroom opened. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he sat against the wall of the bathroom stall. At the opening he saw his little sister gaping at him. He hadn't bothered shutting the stall door, but now he wished he had. Eli didn't want her to see him like this. Opening his mouth to speak he tried to give some explanation, but he was cut off by her sniffling.

"Ollie, I…" She started wailing, hugging her arms around herself. He shut his mouth and waited for her to stop. It took ten minutes for her to calm down and speak.

"Please come home Eli. I miss you and so does mommy." Eli stood up, towering over his sister. Looking in the mirror he wiped the last bits of vomit from his cheek.

"It's not that easy Ollie." He felt her hit his leg weakly.

"Yes it is. If you didn't do that stuff anymore you could come home and we can be a happy family again!" Her frustration became physical as she started pushing him, trying to do some sort of damage.

"Why do you like that stuff more than me? It's not fair!" Her eyes welled up with tears again as she started sobbing. Eli hugged her close as she cried, his mind going in one direction.

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><p>There was a knock on the door as Missy got up from the couch. It had been a long time since she had had the house to herself. Catrice was babysitting Olivia and Murdoc was doing something in the studio across town so the big house was all hers. Not expecting anything from the delivery she wondered who could be at the door. Swinging open the door she held her hand over her mouth in surprise. Eli looked worse for wear, his green eyes looking weary and old. His cheek bones stuck out and he was unnaturally skinny. Olivia's mismatched eyes were swollen and tired as she held on to dear life to Eli's hand. He smiled at his mother.<p>

"Hey." Missy enveloped him a crushing hug. Olivia ran passed them into the dark house. He watched her run to grab the phone to tell their father the good news. The prodigal son had returned.

His voice cracked as he whispered into his mother's ear. "I'm sorry mom." He buried his face into her hair. It took every ounce of energy to stop the tears from coming. "I need help."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Getting my feet wet before I start writing again. Hope you enjoy. If you have any comments, like/hate, or any type of constructive criticsm, feel free to leave a review or PM. Thank you Panda for reviewing my first installation for this and I appreciate your kind words.

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><p><strong><span>School House Rock<span>**

"Daddy, I got this." She adjusted the mirror for the umpteenth time. Murdoc looked over at the juvenile in the drivers seat. It was a complete lie and he knew it. His flesh and blood was terrified of driving, which was hysterical if one took the time to see how he drove. It was watching her almost bite her lip off that had Murdoc's stomach in knots. Her Doc Martens weighed heavily against the gas pedal. Olivia's mismatched eyes glanced over nervously at his own. Looking out at the open road Murdoc spoke with apprehension.

"I don't think you do." Shooting a look full of teenage attitude at her father, he crossed his arms. "Git on then." He watched as her body went stiff. It was unnatural for him to watch her move robotically, although she had many years of practice ahead. He stared at her again in apprehension. All her nervous energy made him almost fling himself out of the car, and Olivia hadn't even started the car yet. "Maybe we should do 'is some otha time." He started to unbuckle himself, but her hand slapped his.

"Daddy." She stared him down with eyes identical to is own. "I need to practice. If I don't practice, then how am I supposed to get my license?" Taking her hair elastic off her wrist, she put her black hair on top of her head. Looking in the mirror one more time, she took a deep breath and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. It was a familiar sound that she had heard many times in her life. The Geep was a tank. It was something that her parents could be sure that she would survive an accident in. It was also the same car that Eli had drove to practice in. Pulling the gear shift into drive, they lulled forward slowly. "Where should we go?" Olivia never took her eyes off the road.

"Let's go see yer mum. No doubt she'll start blubberin' when she hears ye drove." He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at the time. "She should be 'bout done." Pulling into the vacant street, she sped on to her mother's dance studio. It was a good sign that they hadn't caused a wreck in the first five minutes they were on the road. It was a good enough sign that Murdoc started looking through the mail he had grabbed before they had started their adventure. "Ye been reading the driver's ed manual?" He noted that she was doing pretty much alright, but the fluidity would come in time.

Olivia flipped the turn signal. "Yeah, I've read it a few times now. I want to do perfectly on the test." She looked both ways before she turned. Looking back at the envelopes in his hand, he ran into a particularly thick one. It was from Olivia's school.

"If I open 'is, will I be pissed?" The car sped up a kilometer.

"What is it?" Her voice feigned innocence.

"Quarter grades. Ye know I'll git the full brunt from yer mum if yer grades suck." Murdoc used his fingernail to pry the fold open.

"My fate is in your hands. Have mercy on my poor soul." Olivia drove into the parking lot behind the studio. She heard him pulling out the papers. She knew when he was silent, it didn't mean that things were well.

"Yer doing better. But yer gonna explain that D to yer mum." Parking in a parking space, Olivia put the car in park.

"Can I look?" Murdoc handed the paper over.

Knowing that she had tried hard this semester to buckle down, it was hard to think that she did terrible. Holding a breath, she looked at her grades. A moment passed before she exhaled. "Are you kidding? I did a lot better than I have been doing!" Straight B's and one D.

"If yeh git top marks next quarter, I'll let yeh start lesson's again." It had been touch and go since Olivia had entered secondary school. Both her parents knew she had a hard time with sitting still and actually reading the material she was given, but it had never been a problem before when she was in primary school. Of course she had been offered the best tutors, but she was stubborn and insisted that she would study on her own, like everyone else. It was when her grades were at their worst that Murdoc had stopped her ballet lessons. It killed her and her mom, but if she couldn't get good grades when she was busy, then she would have to prove herself and show that she could achieve what was expected of her.

With a dramatic sigh, Olivia unbuckled her seat belt. "Fine." They both got out of the car. Missy was standing at the exit saying good bye to her students when she noticed her daughter bounding over to her. Murdoc watched as his daughter gleefully showed her mother her grades and got down to explaining her one bad mark. He shoved the teacher comments in his pocket; after all, if Missy read that Olivia was prone to rebellious outbursts in class, she might say that it was his fault.


End file.
